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The first Georgia Street Viaduct was built between 1913 and 1915. The narrow structure included streetcar tracks that were never used. At one point, every second lamppost was removed to reduce weight.[1] It was replaced in 1972 by the current viaduct, which is structurally separated and contains three lanes for each direction of traffic.

The current Georgia Viaduct was envisioned in the early 1970s as forming part of an extensive freeway system for Vancouver. However, communities were opposed to the idea of demolishing structures to build the freeway system and the plan was scrapped. The freeways would have required demolishing buildings in neighborhoods including Strathcona, the Downtown Eastside and Chinatown. A predominantly African community called Hogan's Alley was bulldozed in building the viaduct.

Looking westbound into Vancouver, from the Viaduct's pedestrian sidewalk.

Viaduct's westbound exit point from Beatty St.

The viaduct's eastbound traffic is fed from Georgia Street and leads vehicles to Prior Street and Main Street. The viaduct's westbound lanes—occasionally referred to as Dunsmuir Viaduct due to a short gap between them and the eastbound lanes—pass to the north of Rogers Arena. The westbound traffic comes from Prior Street and Main Street, and carries vehicles and pedestrians to Dunsmuir Street, downtown which feeds into Melville Street and eventually Pender Street.